we has a flavorhttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com
meg and andrew gotta eat...Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:55:43 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngwe has a flavorhttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com
Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Taco Goohttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/roasted-bell-peppers-stuffed-with-taco-goo/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/roasted-bell-peppers-stuffed-with-taco-goo/#respondSat, 12 Jan 2013 08:04:35 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=205Continue reading →]]>“Taco Goo” is a favorite of ours and its really versatile. We start with using it to stuff roasted bell peppers, but we make plenty of extra, and use it in taco salads, or on top of nachos, or make a tortilla chip dip out of it. Some of those preparations are less fattening than others…

We usually stuff 4 peppers, but this recipe will make enough goo for at least 8.

Roasted Bell Peppers

2-8 Large bell peppers

Heat the oven to 375ºF.

Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the guts. Remove the stem from the tops and cut the tops into the medium dice, reserving them for the Taco Goo recipe.

Place the peppers in a baking dish and roastfor 30-40 minutes.

Taco Goo

~1 lb ground beef — I like 85/15

¼-½ lb ground chorizo — depends how spicy you like it

1 package taco seasoning — or make your own

~1 Tbsp olive oil or peanut oil

1 large onion, diced medium

Diced bell pepper tops, from above

1 poblano pepper, diced medium

4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn kernels, drained

1 can diced tomatoes– I love Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes with chipotles for this

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and chorizo, breaking it up. Add remaining half of the taco seasoning, working it into the meat with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned. Remove meat from the pan, retaining as much of the deliciously seasoned fat in the pan as you can.

Add onions and peppers to the pan and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute. Add the meat back to the pan, and also the beans and corn. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer until the desired consistency.

Remove from heat and add the cheese and stir, until it starts to melt.

Stuff goo into peppers and serve.

]]>https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/roasted-bell-peppers-stuffed-with-taco-goo/feed/0smileyy90210Green Beans with Ground Chorizohttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/green-beans-with-ground-chorizo/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/green-beans-with-ground-chorizo/#respondSat, 12 Jan 2013 05:54:56 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=201Continue reading →]]>This recipe is so simple but so delicious. The beans are steamed until just tender, and the chorizo adds all the spice they need.

I have trouble getting full-sized green beans tender enough just through sauteeing like I can with haricots verts — they’re just too big. So I figured I’d use the pan-steaming technique that I use to make carrots. I started with this recipe from Noshtopia, but used chicken broth instead of water.

I want to try making this by including some fire-roasted peppers too — I think that would go well.

Green Beans with Ground Chorizo

1 lb green beans

½ lb ground chorizo

1 medium yellow onion, medium dice

~1 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp chicken broth

Tip and tail the green beans, and cut them into 1½-2″ pieces. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add the onions. Cook them until softening and turning translucent. Add the chorizo to the onions and break up and cook until brown. Add the green beans and stir to toss them in with the chorizo and onions and saute for a minute or so. Add the chicken broth and cover immediately to capture the steam.

Cook covered for a few minutes, then remove the lid and let the rest of the broth cook off. The longer you steam them, the more tender they’ll be — you’ll just have to experiment to get your desired crunchiness / tenderness.

]]>https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/green-beans-with-ground-chorizo/feed/0smileyy90210Crispy Pork Bites with Sauteed Broccolihttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/crispy-pork-bites-with-sauteed-broccoli/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/crispy-pork-bites-with-sauteed-broccoli/#respondTue, 08 Jan 2013 07:31:20 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=198Continue reading →]]>This recipe comes in part from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, which, for a while, was my I’m-not-sophisticated-enough-for-The-Joy-Of-Cooking cookbook. Anyway, I have an older version than the one I linked to, so I don’t know if this recipe is in there anymore.

This recipe tosses cubed pork shoulder and diced onions in a marinade, then roasts it in the oven until the pork is tasty and juicy and tender.

In the fat old days, I’d serve this mixed with rice. The pork by itself is good, but it benefits from something to break it up. So I tried some broccoli, which I cooked until soft and tender, and I think it turned out great.

Crispy Pork Bites

2 lbs boneless pork shoulder (butt) roast

1 onion, diced medium

1 T olive or peanut oil

1 T cumin

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

zest and juice of one lemon (you can use lemon juice if you don’t have a lemon)

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Cut the pork into ¾-1″ cubes. Trim excess fat, but each piece should have some marbling of fat in it. Combine the pork, onion with the oil, spices and lemon ingredients. You can cook it right away, but I like to let it marinate for a little while.

Put everything into a baking dish in a single layer, and cook for one hour, until the sauce is reduced and thick, and the pork is browning. Every 20 minutes, I like to toss the pork around with a wooden spoon so it cooks evenly.

Sauteed Broccoli

2-3 heads broccoli

~ 1T Olive oil

~1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 cloves of garlic

Cut the broccoli into stems and florets. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add the stems. Cook for 3 minutes then add the florets, and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Heat oil in a saute pan. Add the paprika and salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the broccoli and garlic and saute until the broccoli gets browned at the edges.

On Christmas, I made a fabulous Bourbon Cider Glazed Ham, and of course I ended up with a hambone left over. That means it’s time for soup! I started with this recipe from Three Many Cooks, but it turned into Hot Ham Paste — it looks like paste, with a smack of ham! Actually, it has a porky, smoky, earthy taste to it, with a little bit of heat that builds as you eat it. I really just wanted to run with the Arrested Development joke there.

I had bought some tasso to use in the green beans at Christmas, so I diced some of that and added it in for a little extra ham and spice. I didn’t have a jalapeno, and wanted a little more smokiness and heat, so I tossed in a spoonful of pureed chipotles in adobo. I love chipotles in adobo, and after I’ve used some, I save the rest of the can by pureeing it all together. It makes for a nice extra smoke and spice when you need it.

Hot Ham Paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, cut into small dice

1 green bell pepper, cut into small dice

1 carrot, cut into small dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp spicy paprika

1½ tsp oregano

2 cups chicken broth

3 cans black beans

1 hambone, with some meat on it

4-6 oz tasso or bacon or other pork product (optional)

1 Tbs pureed chipotles in adobo

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or soup pot and add onion, pepper and carrot. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add the cumin, paprikas and oregano, and stir. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add half the beans, the hambone, the tasso, the chipotle paste and the bay leaves. Simmer for a half an hour and add the remainder of the beans.

Simmer for about an hour, then remove the hambone and remove the rest of the meat and add the meat back into the pot. Take about half of the soup and puree it in a blender and return it to the dutch oven.

Continue to simmer until reduced to the right consistency. I ended up simmering it for about 6 hours, but that’s mostly because I forgot about it when I went to sleep and woke up at 5 A.M. with almost burned soup. A little extra water, and it turned back into a thick rich hearty soup.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

]]>https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/hot-ham-paste/feed/0smileyy90210More...Brussels Sprout Prosciutto Biteshttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/brussels-sprout-prosciutto-bites/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/brussels-sprout-prosciutto-bites/#respondWed, 02 Jan 2013 01:47:09 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=192Continue reading →]]>One can only eat so many bacon-wrapped dates or chorizo-and-cream-cheese-stuffed jalapeños. Well, that’s not true but play along, okay? We were invited to a New Years gathering, and I wanted to try a new appetizer, rather than my (delicious) standby’s.

My friend Kim sent me a link to 101 Bite-Size Party Foods, and that’s where I found a link to this fabulous recipe. I had roasted Brussels sprouts for the first time on Thanksgiving, and I’ve been a convert ever since. The prosciutto just adds

Brussels Sprout Prosciutto Bites

1 lb Brussels sprouts

1/4 lb prosciutto

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 400ºF. Rinse off the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Toss them with olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange them face down (or face up) on a foil-lined roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, then flip over, and roast for 10-20 more minutes. You’ll probably be afraid you’re burning them, but you want them well-cooked and caramelized and well-browned around the edges.

Meanwhile, chop the prosciutto into chunks and cook in a skillet over medium heat until it gets crispy. You dont’t need any oil — the prosciutto will release enough fat as it cooks.

Assemble the Brussels sprouts like a sandwich, with two sprout halves as the bread and a bit of prosciutto in the middle, all held together by a toothpick. Try not to eat too many when you’re assembling them.

I used something halfway between the “Basic Sweet Crepes” and “Basic Savory Crepes” recipe from the Joy of Cooking.

This recipe yields 6-8 crepes, depending on size. I had more crepes than I had made eggs, so I made some dessert crepes too.

Crepes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1½ tsp brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

Combine the ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix. Let the batter rest at least 30 minutes.

Heat a skillet with medium-high heat, and lightly grease. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl around to distribute evenly. Cook until the top is set and the bottom is turning golden brown, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown too.

It always takes me a crepe to get the timing and consistency right.

Ham and Cheese Crepes

Diced ham

Scrambled eggs

Cheddar and/or Monterey Jack, shredded

When you flip the crepe, add cheese so it starts melting, then add ham and scrambled eggs. Fold the crepe over into a roll and serve.

Banana Nutella Crepes

This recipe yields two crepes per banana.

1 banana, sliced into medallions

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs light brown sugar

Nutella

Melt the butter and brown sugar together and add bananas. When you flip the crepe, add a healthy spoonful of Nutella and let it melt, then spread around. Add half the caramelized bananas and sauce, then fold the crepe over into a roll and serve.

I didn’t have any of the gluten-free “Oreos” from Kinnikinnick, and holiday circumstances kept me from getting to Whole Foods to get some, so I made my own chocolate cookie crust with some gluten-free graham crackers I had, and a package of gluten-free animal crackers I was able to find, along with some cocoa powder.

I didn’t feel like making a piping bag for the chocolate and peanut butter drizzles, so I melted the chocolate and peanute butter together and spread it on top with a spatula instead.

The filling turned out extremely peanut butter-y, whereas the chocolate from the crust and topping was a little lacking in comparison. If I did this again, I’d probably try adding some chocolate to the filling to make this a little more chocolate-peanut butter.

Chocolate Cookie Pie Crust

1¾ cups chocolate cookie crumbs (about 20 Oreos)

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Combine the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are chopped up into a coarse-grained cookie crust mixture.

Press the mix into a buttered springform pan bottom, using a flat-bottomed glass to press smooth. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set.

When baking a cookie crust in a springform pan, I find that some butter usually melts and runs out, so you might want to put a pan or aluminum foil on a rack underneath the pan in the oven.

Set the springform pan on a cooling rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Filling

8 oz. cream cheese (1 package), at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1+ tsp kosher salt

1½ cups creamy peanut butter

1+ Tbs vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt together, then mix in the peanut butter and vanilla. In another bowl, whip the cream into soft peaks. Mix 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to soften it, then gently fold the rest of the whipped cream in.

Fill the springform pan with the filling, and freeze for at least 2 hours to set.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons peanut butter

Melt the chocolate and peanut butter together in a small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Pour the topping over the frozen pie and spread with a spatula.

]]>https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/chocolate-peanut-butter-pie/feed/0smileyy90210Bourbon Glazed Carrots and Parsnipshttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/bourbon-glazed-carrots-and-parsnips/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/bourbon-glazed-carrots-and-parsnips/#respondFri, 28 Dec 2012 06:28:32 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=154Continue reading →]]>This recipe uses a similar technique as Cumin Spiced Carrots — cooking/steaming the carrots and parsnips in a liquid that then reduces into a sweet glaze. This recipe uses bourbon (or whisky) and brown sugar as the liquid, and comes from Food and Wine, recommended by our friend Kim.

Bourbon Glazed Carrots and Parsnips

4 Tbs butter

1/2 cup bourbon

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks

1 lb tender young parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the bourbon, brown sugar, salt and pepper and combine. Add the carrot and parsnips, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes so the vegetables steam. Remove the lid and cook until the vegetables are tender and sauce is reduced to a sticky glaze.

]]>https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/bourbon-glazed-carrots-and-parsnips/feed/0smileyy90210Cheesy Smoky Green Bean Casserolehttps://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/cheesy-smoky-green-bean-casserole/
https://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/cheesy-smoky-green-bean-casserole/#respondFri, 28 Dec 2012 05:49:06 +0000http://wehasaflavor.wordpress.com/?p=150Continue reading →]]>There’s not much difference between this and macaroni and cheese, but with green beans instead of macaroni. I wanted to include some ham in with the green beans, but since the ham was cooking at the same time, I diced some tasso instead. The sauce is your basic bechamel-based cheese sauce. And who doesn’t love a bacon breadcrumb topping?

Green Beans

2 lbs. haricots verts

¼-½ lb tasso, diced

Blanch the green beans in boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes, then drain. Combine the green beans and tasso in a 8×12″ casserole dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the butter, cooking until browned. Add the dairy and cook until it becomes a sauce. Slowly add the cheese so that it melts in the sauce. Add the salt and pepper and paprika to taste.

Pour the cheese sauce over the green beans and ham, and mix together.

Bacon Breadcrumb Topping

4 strips thick-sliced bacon

2-3 slices of bread

~ 2 Tbs butter,

Salt and pepper

Cook the bacon until not-quite completely crispy. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and add the butter, bread, bacon and salt and pepper to a food processer. Pulse until chopped up and mixed. Top the casserole with the mixture.

Bake the casserole at 400ºF for 10-15 minutes, until the top is browned and the cheese is bubbly.